The person in charge of Union Action of the State Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and general secretary of the CESM in the Canary Islands, levy cabrerawarns that the Health Center of Icod of the Wines It is currently the most saturated on the island of Tenerife, due to the size of its Basic Health Zone and the increase in respiratory conditions in recent weeks. The level of saturation has meant that some doctors at this center have had to attend to 70 patients in one day, more than double the recommended maximum.
«Icod is, along with Abona granadillathe largest basic health zone in Tenerife, and is having a saturation with medical agendas of between 60 and 70 people daily. It is practically impossible to see more patients because the consultations are used in two shifts, in the morning and in the afternoon, so if one does not finish, the next one cannot enter, “says this union representative in statements to EL DÍA.
Cabrera puts the accent on “the desperation that exists among the professionals in these situations. The doctor in the morning has not been able to see all of his patients and they are already beginning to mix with those scheduled for the afternoon ». The ideal, according to Cabrera, is “Do not exceed figures of between 30 and 35 patients per day». The usual thing in Icod is that between 40 and 50 are seen daily. In his opinion, “a normal schedule should close with 25 patients a day, with space to care for between 5 and 10 people who have to go without an appointment.”
From the CESM it is pointed out that «no more than six patients per hour should be scheduled, but sometimes up to 3 and 4 people are quoted at the same time. Doctors do not control the schedule and, due to pressure, administrators make several appointments at the same time. So we always go with our tongue outwith delays, and that is our day to day for not adapting the number of doctors to the population we are serving.
Levy Cabrera, from the CESM Canarias union, demands the hiring of reinforcement doctors
In the case of Icod, the problem of the lack of spaces to incorporate new doctors is added. A need for expansion that it shares with other health centers in the North such as «Los Realejos, Tacoronte, Buenavista or El Sauzalcenters that are from the last century with a population that is no longer that of the last century”, according to Cabrera.
The short-term solution to put an end to this collapse is, in the opinion of levy cabreraby recruiting backup doctors, “Which in the case of Icod de los Vinos could be relocated to the emergency area dependencies outside their normal hours.” Some reinforcements that, “according to the current protocol,” should be hired “for a week or 15 days each time you wait for an appointment exceeds three days. Another thing is that they are going to find available doctors.
Another key is that the sick leave and absences of doctors are substituted, «to avoid that the patients have to be distributed among the rest of the doctors of each center. This measure would be key to not destabilize the work of professionals who are working better.
